Got the cat!

[tabbypurr]

Beware of Jack Russells. DAMHIKT.

[Ophelia]

Train it to fetch one for you and keep a 2m distance

Adam

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It looks like that on is keeping the 2m distance, lol

[Ophelia]

Our cat is a rescue cat which we've had for about 2.5 years now. Last summer she bought a mouse, a frog and a bird into the house, all at different times of course. She then dropped them on the floor and left me to catch them and take them back outside while she watched.

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<g> she obviously needed a bit of entertainment:)))

If she does it more than once you must be performing really well ;)

She is lucky to have you:)

[Ophelia]

Surely the training didn't stop there, she must've taught you more since then.

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LOL nice one:))

[Ophelia]

Beware of Jack Russells. DAMHIKT.

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lol

[T i m]

;-)

We meet all sorts of dogs in our regular walks over my 63 years and whilst Jack Russells *can* be feisty (they are bread to be after all, as ratters) the vast majority of Jackies we come across are as mellow as any other well trained and certainly older dog (any puppy can be a bit crazy).

A mate has a Rotty / Bull mastive cross, a massive dog but as well mannered anything, even with aggressive dogs.

What is often the case though, especially with small dogs is 'small dog syndrome', (most typically just with other dogs) where they don't seem to realise that they are 'just' small dogs and will try it on with anything.

In fact, that's something that will often throw our normally dominant medium sized terrier, when something tiny rushes up to him all noise and teeth and he doesn't know what it is or to do with it (so walks round it). ;-)

Anything his size or bigger doing the same would likely end up with a brief session of 'dominance structuring'. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Andrew]

Does he know the green cross code for crossing a road ?.

More traffic in England than where he came from :-(

[Andrew]

when I was a kid, our tabby cat came in with an enormous bulging belly and there was a bunny back foot on the doormat (for us).

Cat could barely move fo 24 hours.

[spuorgelgoog]

Yes, cat had already had one bunny that morning.

Caught the second and took the leg off to stop it escaping, but was saving it nice and fresh till later :;

Owain

[Robin]

Is this the special Green Cross Code for cats that involves looking out for drivers with green P Plates, then crossing the road in front of them at speed, from cover, to try to make them swerve into something?

[Ophelia]

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I am so very pleased for you both:)))))

Enjoy:)) I wouldn't know what to do without our lovely dog:))

Yes, it does help!

[Ophelia]

when I was a kid, our tabby cat came in with an enormous bulging belly and there was a bunny back foot on the doormat (for us).

Cat could barely move fo 24 hours.

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:(( Had she eaten it??

[ARW]

You are far too cheerful.

[Ophelia]

You are far too cheerful.

Adam

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Oh dear:( Would you prefer me to whinge all the time?

Sorry <g>

[tabbypurr]

Ours was a freakin lunatic. We had to play fight every morning without fail, and I had to win, or he'd get aggressive. I can't count the number of times he had to be restrained while he calmed down.

I know why he ended up that way, it wasn't my fault fwiw. Dogs are great if treated right, but sometimes it's uphill going to undo someone else's work. And jacks are not just prone to being nutcases, but also good at hiding it when you first meet them.

NT

[T i m]

<snip>

<snip>

Ok ... ;-)

Hmm, I wonder if that had anything to do with (encouraging) his behaviour? ;-)

When we first got our terrier, if he was 'riled up' by even seeing another dog, we knew the best way to manage that was to bring him down as quickly as possibly, soft words, distraction / treats etc. If we didn't, the next thing that set him off would be even worse.

I can imagine though. ;-(

Ok ... ;-)

True.

Like until you wind them up? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

p.s. When we first got this rescue terrier we also though he was a 'freaking lunatic' because we were more used to dogs we had had from a younger age or were 'typically' of a more stable temperament (whippets / lurchers etc). We paid for a dog trainer to take him round the local park with us and after an hour working with him she concluded he just needed some good training, TLC and time. The thing is, when she said 'good training' she was talking about us and the ability to spot the smallest of signs and deal with them quickly and correctly, before they escalated into bad / unwanted behaviour. *She* could predict what he would do, long before he did it or we were ready for it. Now we are and that's partly why he's the loving mellow chap he (mostly) is now. ;-)

[tabbypurr]

quite the opposite, it was the only thing that stopped it, as I said.

He was at max wind much of the time all by himself. Jacks are known for being prone to being a handful.

Most dogs do great when treated correctly. Ours was another story. Double ADHD I think, plus a past of all the wrong training.

NT

[Chris J Dixon]

I guess it is because of the software you are using, or the way it is configured, but when I read your responses it never shows what you are replying to as quoted text, you just insert a row of equals signs. Is this what you intend?

Chris

[Ophelia]

I guess it is because of the software you are using, or the way it is configured, but when I read your responses it never shows what you are replying to as quoted text, you just insert a row of equals signs. Is this what you intend?

Chris

[T i m]

<snip>

Vicious circle though? Do you think a dog trainer would have done that?

<snip>

What do the dog trainers do first under such circumstances, take it for a long walk and wear it out.

They are, but they are also trainable.

Quite.

;-)

That can generally be undone.

You see these dog whisperers on TV when a family have had an out-of-control dog for several years. They come in, apply good dog behaviour psychology and lo-and-behold, it's a different dog. ;-)

As I mentioned, it has taken two of us (daughter and I) constantly working on our rescue terrier for over a year now to turn him round to the degree we have.

Cheers, T i m

p.s. One of the first things we did was to get him to return on the whistle. This means we shouldn't lose him if he should run off and not hear us calling. Two peeps on a high pitched whistle (we have several, all tuned to the same pitch) means 'Come for a nice treat' (and it had to be a 'nice' treat, like a bit of sausage or chicken).

The other day we were transferring the dog over to daughter and I was still sitting in our car and she was out on the pavement with said dog on an extending lead. I wanted to indicate to daughter I'd taken the whistle, off one of the leads and put it on a lanyard round my neck. She couldn't see what I was showing her because of the light so I blew it a couple of times. Dog was in my car like a shot (even those he was with No1 master), looking for his treat (which I had to give him of course). ;-)

p.p.s. Training him to do 'tricks' is actually quite easy. Sit, down, left paw, right paw, 'seek' (hidden treats) etc. It took two sausages cut up to train him to press a reception bell with his paw. ;-)

Training him to be obedient was more difficult, especially if he was being distracted by another dog or a cyclist, jogger or anything he wasn't sure about. Hover, constant 'stress avoidance', giving him treats as we had spotted what would was likely to find a stressful situation, *before* got into that zone was key. This progressed right up to having him sit next to a stranger dog whilst giving both dogs treats (with the owners permission) was the fruits of our labour. Positive behaviour reinforcement or some such. ;-)